When Reverend Jamaine Tucker looks back on last Sunday, it’s as if it were a dream.

It’s then that the 44-year-old was officially ordained as a Deacon in the Anglican Church of Bermuda; one of the first Bermudians in many years.

The day served as a reminder of just how far he’s come.

“I was, in fact, raised in the funeral business,” Rev Tucker said. “My father was a mortician and my brother is still active in the industry today. I even went to funeral service college in Atlanta and had every intention of continuing in the family tradition, but over time, and through a series of opportunities, God began leading me into ministry.”

He grew up attending St Paul AME Church, eventually helping with its youth group. His pastor at the time, Reverend Dr Silvester Beaman, was instrumental in his decision to answer the call.

“I was moving slowly with it and resisting because I thought funeral services was what I would be doing all my life,” he said. “I had a really tough time with the decision to become a preacher and felt I would be letting my father and family down but eventually, at 22, I started my ministry journey as a pastor in the AME church.”

Rev Tucker completed his studies and was serving in a small church in Atlanta, Georgia when he noticed the community was changing, becoming more culturally diverse. He left the majority black AME church and became a Pentecostal pastor for a few years.

In 2008, he returned to Bermuda looking to mix things up with a more innovative approach to ministry. He started a Sunday service in Spinning Wheel, the Court Street nightclub, and organised a Wednesday Bible study at Leopards Club on Brunswick Street.

His ministry took off but his personal life started to unravel.

He and his wife went through a painful divorce — the shame from that caused him to distance himself from the Church.

“I’m not saying I was being judged by the Church, but that is how I felt on the inside,” he said.

“For a while I shied away from the Church. I didn’t want to be the centre of attention or for pastors who knew me to make me a spectacle by saying, ‘We are going to pray for you, come to the altar’. That’s what I was used to in those religious traditions in the past.”

His hope was restored while visiting the Anglican Church. Canon James Francis one day extended an invitation to have an informal chat.

“We just had small talk and I needed that,” he said. “It led to some pretty intense conversation led by me, and Canon Francis was a great listener. While attending his church I felt welcomed; the rest is history, as they say.”

He confessed to having preconceived notions about the Anglican Church before joining.

“I figured the Anglican Church didn’t know anything about the Holy Spirit and I was on the fence about going there,” he said.

“I heard people say their services were very traditional and rigid and void of the presence of God, but I decided to go and see for myself.

“Where I was and everything I was experiencing, I needed a warm and welcoming place like the Anglican Church. One that would love me despite everything I was going through, despite the shame I was experiencing and the failed marriage, low self-esteem and doubts.

“The service was life-giving and the fellowship was so rich. That’s what led me to agree to preach at a youth Sunday service in the spring of 2010.”

His goal is to share messages with the body of Christ that will heal and change lives. While he never knows how God is going to move in a person’s heart, he wants to empower people who may be lost or struggling.

“There is a social justice passion I have and it’s to help the poor, the ostracised and those downtrodden,” he said. “That’s why a lot of what I say has been generated from that lens.”

He will serve his curacy at Holy Trinity Church, under Reverend John Stow.

Rev Tucker is one of the first Bermudians in many years to be ordained as a stipendiary Deacon. Bishop Nicholas Dill said the Anglican Church in Bermuda was trying to draw out leadership that is better representative of the population on the Island.

Rt Rev Dill said: “I’m excited about what God is doing and believe Jamaine will inspire future generations to say, this is something I can be a part of and be proud of.”